Mushroom and Garlic White Pizza

Recently, a number of blogs have reminded me that there hasn’t been a pizza featured on frugalfeeding for quite some time. I don’t necessarily feel that an average, commonly found pizza has much of a place on food blogs, since everyone knows what they are and how to make them. This recipe, however, clearly isn’t average, since the base isn’t spread with tomato sauce. Instead, it is scattered with cheese that melts readily, such as cheddar or mozzarella. This is an idea which first came to my attention during a visit to a pizza café in Bristol, which served something similar to this, only with caramelised onions and less mushrooms and garlic. It was delicious and I’ve been fascinated with the idea ever since.

As you might imagine, the replacement of the tomato sauce on the base by a thin layer of cheese makes the whole pizza-eating experience that little bit lighter. In addition to this, it also has the effect of bringing to the fore the flavours of the topping; an admirable trait, to say the least. There is, of course, nothing wrong with making a pizza using tomato sauce, but it is a shame to disguise the flavour of some of the more delicious and delicately flavoured ingredients out there. You may be sceptical, but give it a try – it simply won’t disappoint. Then again, such a claim is only true if one is a fan of cheese.

I’d highly recommend making one’s own base for a pizza such as this; it would be such a shame to sully the overall effect with sub-par bread. Why not do what I did and follow a Jamie Oliver recipe, divide it into portions and freeze it for later use. In doing this, one can make enough pizza dough for 5-6 meals in around a couple of hours. Don’t be lazy, there’s no need for it.

On a different note, isn’t it brilliant that Nadal has crashed out of Wimbledon? To be honest, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes, but in my opinion, he showed just how petulant he can be when things aren’t going his way. The silly Spaniard. Not that I have anything against Spaniards… or silly people.

Mushroom and Garlic White Pizza

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of pizza dough

• 80g mozzarella cheese

• A generous handful of mature cheddar cheese

• 150g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

• A clove of garlic, mashed

• A little olive oil

• A handful of rocket leaves, to serve

Method:

1. Begin by frying off the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until the former have reduced in size and most of their water content has evaporated. Stretch out the pizza base and cover it with the cheese, leave a border of a few centimetres. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the top. Pop it in the oven at around 220C.

2. Once the top of the pizza is golden, the cheese has melted and the base is hard remove the pizza from the oven. Top it with a handful of rocket and enjoy!

Cost: The pizza dough, if made at home, is extremely economical at around 15-20p. The topping is, understandably, a little more expensive, though this isn’t a particularly extravagant pizza. Indeed, the entire meal, which could serve up to four (with salad), should set one back no more than around £1.80. That’s a lot cheaper than any pre-made pizza that you’ll find anywhere.

Nothing can beat a homemade pizza. I absolutely love your photos, they look alive and real (there’s been so much photo editing, that sometimes I don’t even want to bother making the dish). Thanks you for the recipe. 🙂

This looks fantastic! Another pizza sauce idea: puree roasted garlic cloves into a paste and spread on the pizza dough. I have a pizza post going up tomorrow that uses this and it is UNBELIEVABLY good.

I had a pizza once at a long-gone restaurant. They squeezed an entire head of roasted garlic onto the pizza dough, drizzles with olive oil, topped with spinach and feta cheese then baked until cheese oozed & browned, om!g it was so good, no leftovers, at least 3 inches on my wasted waist!

Pizza! Possibly the perfect food! Love your white version with mushrooms. It occurred to me as I read your last line about the cost that when you make pizza at home, you could top it with just about anything (with the possible exception of truffles and caviar) and it would still be far cheaper than anything you could buy. And massively better too!

Oh goodness, this looks absolutely lovely! I adore the fact that the toppings get to shine, especially since mushrooms are one of my favorites. I can just imagine enjoying this pizza, on a patio, with a glass of chilled white wine, in the summer sunshine. *sigh*

That is certainly not an average pizza! It looks delicious. By the way, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (whose recipes I am enamored by) has some great pizza recipes which are also a little different than ‘normal’ pizzas. And his multi-purpose “Magic Bread Dough” recipe is awesome…it makes wonderful pizza bases and tasty bread too.

Saw this on facebook and had to come have a look – but no tomato sauce on the base Nick?? I’m shocked, I just don’t know what to think. I just bought a pizza stone recently, I’ll work my way up to giving this a go 🙂

Looks delish, have bookmarked the pizza dough page and will make some for the freezer, what a great idea! Thanks for encouraging me to be more frugal, I need it with the high supermarket prices in Singapore… Cath.

I love pizza bianca. I think it was all I ate when I was in Rome (well, that and gelato). I think you’re absolutely right in saying it brings out the flavour of the toppings, whatever they may be, forcing them into the spotlight a bit more.

I tried freezing some pizza dough recently and ended up disappointed. The fresh batch of dough made delicious pizza, but the pizza made from the previously frozen dough was flat and soggy. Have any suggestions for freezing pizza dough? Maybe I need to try the Jamie Oliver recipe. Oh, and I was happy to see Nadal exit Wimbledon too!

I’m so glad to see you’ve remedied this situation with a pizza that undoubtedly has the loveliest of flavors. I agree.. tomato sauce is very sharp and acidic, the switch to cheese has me thinking.. imagining.. so many pizzas.. but I’d have to start with yours:) Smidge
ps who is Nadal..

There are few things in life more delicious than homemade pizza. I got 2 proper pizza stones as an early birthday present and they are a-mazing – can’t recommend them highly enough! Love the garlic mushroom topping here.

Hi Frugal,
I knew something was missing from the blogs I follow. You have stopped appearing in my reader. I will defollow and refollow to see if it fixes it. I was missing the stuff you do.
Best,
Conor

This looks delicious and I love the addition of mushrooms to cut through the cheese. Garlic is a perfect match here too. I tried white pizza in New York last week but it was just different cheeses and was very heavy and rich. Yours looks perfect.

We’ve been making our own pizza lately, and I think I’m ready to branch out and make our own dough. This recipe with mushrooms and garlic sounds lovely. Do you have a pizza dough recipe? I’m a little nervous to make it myself.